Apparatus and method for dispatching a tow truck in response to a roadway emergency

ABSTRACT

A method of operating an emergency services system entity is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by the emergency services system entity, data from a plurality of data sources; determining that a vehicle collision occurred based on the received data; determining a vehicle collision location; and sending a tow truck dispatch request to a plurality of tow truck dispatch systems in response to determining that a vehicle collision occurred, where the request includes the vehicle collision location.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/870,995, filed Jul. 5, 2019, entitled “APPARATUS ANDMETHOD FOR DISPATCHING A TOW TRUCK IN RESPONSE TO A ROADWAY EMERGENCY”which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, andwhich is assigned to the same assignee as the present application.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to emergency calls, nextgeneration E911 emergency call systems, and more particularly toproviding data to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), apparatusesand methods.

BACKGROUND

First responders such as police, fire department personnel andparamedics, are often faced with roadside emergencies in which a vehiclecollision has occurred, or other situations in which a vehicle hasstalled and is no longer operative, or situations where the vehicle mustbe abandoned. In these situations, the vehicle drivers may not be ableto find a tow truck to remove their vehicle from the road or may not bein a condition to do so. Usually law enforcement officials, or otherfirst responders must place a phone call to obtain a tow truck to clearthe road after such emergency situations. However, because the firstresponders are extremely busy managing the emergency response, finding atow truck is a poor use of their time and resources.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an emergency services system that includesan accident analysis and reporting (AAR) system in accordance withvarious embodiments that communicates with an emergency network such asa public safety answering point (PSAP).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that provides details on the various datasources from which the AAR system obtains data in accordance with theembodiments.

FIG. 3 is a traffic diagram showing an example of data being sent to theAAR system in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that provides details of the AAR system inaccordance with the embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a method of operation of the AAR system inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a method of operation of the AAR system inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method of operation of the AAR systemrelated to emergency tow truck dispatching in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a method of operation of the AAR systemrelated to non-emergency tow truck dispatching in accordance withvarious embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a method of operation of the AAR system inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a method of operation of the AAR systemin accordance with various embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of a graphical user interface provided by the towtruck dispatch system interface/portal 430 in accordance with variousembodiments.

FIG. 12 is an example tow truck request send by the AAR system via SMSmessage in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 13 is an example of an updated tow truck request send by the AARsystem via SMS message in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Briefly, the present disclosure provides an apparatus that is operativeto communicate with tow truck dispatch systems to dispatch one or moretow trucks in response to, among other things, detection of a collisionindicator in data received from a variety of sources. In one example, atow truck may be dispatched in response to a threshold of emergencycalls occurring within a given geospatial and temporal (i.e. timeinterval) span. By receiving data from various data sources andanalyzing the data for collision indicators, the apparatus is operativeto determine that a vehicle collision has occurred and proactivelydispatch a tow truck to the accident scene even without an emergencycall having been made. Other features include sending enhanced orsupplemental incident information to an emergency network such as aPSAP.

The present disclosure provides a method of operating an emergencyservices system entity, that includes receiving, by the entity, datafrom a plurality of data sources; determining that a vehicle collisionoccurred based on the received data; determining a vehicle collisionlocation; and sending a tow truck dispatch request to a plurality of towtruck dispatch systems in response to determining that a vehiclecollision occurred. The request includes the vehicle collision location.

The method may further include: receiving, by the emergency servicessystem entity, location data for a plurality of emergency calls;providing location information to an emergency network, such as a PSAP,in response to receiving the location data; monitoring the location datafor call clusters based on location proximity and time; and determiningthat a vehicle collision occurred based on determining that the calls ofa call cluster originated in proximity to a roadway. The method mayfurther include: receiving, by the entity, inertial measurement unit(IMU) data as a portion of the data received from the plurality of datasources; determining that a vehicle collision occurred based on at leastone of change in acceleration, change in velocity or change in positionbased on the IMU data; and identifying the location of the IMU datasource as the vehicle collision location. The method may furtherinclude: receiving, by the entity, connected vehicle data as a portionof the data received from the plurality of data sources; determiningthat a vehicle collision occurred based on at least one collisionindicator included in the connected vehicle data; and identifying thelocation of the connected vehicle as the vehicle collision location. Themethod may further include: receiving, by the entity, traffic sensordata as a portion of the data received from the plurality of datasources; determining that a vehicle collision occurred based on at leastone collision indicator included in the traffic sensor data; andidentifying the location of the connected vehicle as the traffic sensorlocation. The method may further include: receiving, by the entity,roadway camera data as a portion of the data received from the pluralityof data sources; determining that a vehicle collision occurred based onat least one collision indicator included in the roadway camera data;and identifying the location of the connected vehicle as the roadwaycamera location. The method may further include: determining at leastone collision indicator based on data from one of the plurality of datasources; comparing other data source data to identify correlated data;and determining a severity level for a collision based on the at leastone collision indicator and the correlated data. The method may furtherinclude: searching social media feed data for related information inresponse to determining that a vehicle collision occurred based on thereceived data. The method may further include: receiving anacknowledgment from a tow truck dispatch system in response to sendingthe tow truck dispatch request; and notifying the emergency network,such as a public safety answering point, that a tow truck has beendispatched to the vehicle collision location.

The present disclosure also provides an emergency services systementity, that includes an emergency assessment engine, operative to:receive data from a plurality of data sources; and determine that avehicle collision occurred based on the received data; a locationdetermination engine, operatively coupled to the emergency assessmentengine, operative to determine a vehicle collision location; and a towtruck dispatch system interface operatively coupled to the locationdetermination engine and to the emergency assessment engine. The towtruck dispatch system interface is operative to send a tow truckdispatch request to a plurality of tow truck dispatch systems inresponse to the emergency assessment engine determining that a vehiclecollision occurred. The request includes the vehicle collision location.

The emergency services system entity may further include a call clusteranalysis engine, operatively coupled to the emergency assessment engineand to the location determination engine. The call cluster analysisengine operative to: monitor location data sent to the locationdetermination engine for call clusters based on location proximity andtime; and determine that a vehicle collision occurred based ondetermining that the calls of a call cluster originated in proximity toa roadway. The location determination engine may be further operativeto: receive the location data for a plurality of emergency calls; andprovide location information to an emergency network in response toreceiving the location data.

The emergency services system entity may further include an inertialmeasurement unit (IMU) and vehicle data analysis engine, operativelycoupled to the emergency assessment engine and to the locationdetermination engine. The IMU and vehicle data analysis engine isoperative to: receive IMU data from a plurality of mobile devices andvehicles; determine that a vehicle collision occurred based on at leastone of change in acceleration, change in velocity or change in positionbased on the IMU data. The location determination engine may be furtheroperative to identify the location of a mobile device that sent the IMUdata as the vehicle collision location.

The IMU and vehicle data analysis engine may be further operative to:receive connected vehicle data from a plurality of connected vehicles;and determine that a vehicle collision occurred based on at least onecollision indicator included in the connected vehicle data. The locationdetermination engine may be further operative to identify the locationof the connected vehicle as the vehicle collision location.

The emergency services system entity may further include a trafficsensor data analysis engine, operatively coupled to the emergencyassessment engine and to the location determination engine. The trafficsensor data analysis engine is operative to: receive traffic sensor datafrom a plurality of traffic sensors; determine that a vehicle collisionoccurred based on at least one collision indicator included in thetraffic sensor data; and identify the location of the vehicle collisionas the traffic sensor location.

The emergency services system entity may further include: an imageanalysis engine, operatively coupled to the emergency assessment engineand to the location determination engine. The image analysis engine isoperative to: receive roadway camera data from a plurality of roadwaycameras; determine that a vehicle collision occurred based on at leastone collision indicator included in the roadway camera data; andidentify the location of the vehicle collision as the roadway cameralocation.

The emergency assessment engine may be further operative to: determineat least one collision indicator based on data from one of the pluralityof data sources; compare other data source data to identify correlateddata; and determine a severity level for a vehicle collision based onthe at least one collision indicator and the correlated data.

The emergency services system entity may further include a social mediacontext engine, operatively coupled to the emergency assessment engineand to the location determination engine. The social media contextengine is operative to search social media feed data for relatedinformation in response to determining that a vehicle collision occurredbased on the received data.

The emergency services system entity may further include: a tow truckdispatch system interface, operatively coupled to the emergencyassessment engine and to the location determination engine. The towtruck dispatch system interface is operative to: receive anacknowledgment from a tow truck dispatch system in response to sendingthe tow truck dispatch request; and notify an emergency network, such asa public safety answering point, that a tow truck has been dispatched tothe vehicle collision location.

Turning now to the drawings wherein like numerals represent likecomponents, FIG. 1 illustrates an emergency services system 100 thatcommunicates with an emergency network such as a public safety answeringpoint (PSAP). The PSAP, which may also be referred to an emergencydispatch center, includes an emergency call handling system 120 which isoperatively coupled to a PSTN (public switched telephone network) andvarious wireless networks 110 via a backhaul connection 103. Theemergency call handling system 120 is operative to receive an emergencycall 102, for example, from a mobile device 101 that is operativelycoupled wirelessly to one of the various wireless networks 110 as wellas emergency calls from landline phones connected to the PSTN. Theemergency call handling system 120 is further operatively coupled via aconnection 104, which may be an Ethernet connection, to a call handlingsystem workstation 130, at which emergency services personnel mayreceive the emergency call 102 and speak with the caller if possible.However, depending upon the nature of the emergency, the caller may notbe able to speak due to injuries, or other exigent circumstances.

The term “emergency call” as used herein refers to a communicationrelating to an emergency or non-emergency situation. The communicationmay be made from a mobile device to an emergency network, such as aPSAP. An emergency call may be an emergency request for assistance,where the request is associated with an emergency situation, or may beassociated with a non-emergency situation. An emergency call may be acommunication initiated by a mobile device user using the native dialerof the mobile device and may be associated with the mobile device makingthe call. However, an emergency call may also be associated with amobile device not making the call such as relates to a proxy requestmade on behalf of a second device and/or a member device in a group ofdevices. As used herein, an emergency call is “associated” with a deviceor user when the emergency call relates to an emergency or non-emergencysituation involving the device or user.

An emergency call may be an emergency alert where the emergency alertmay have data associated with a mobile device or otherwise associatedwith a mobile device user. An emergency alert may also have dataassociated with a mobile device sending the alert or another device. Forexample, an emergency alert may have data associated with a mobiledevice, such as current and/or past location data, or current and/orpast health data associated with the user of a mobile device. Anemergency alert may be sent using for example, a Short Message Service(SMS) text message, a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) message, ane-mail message, an Instant Messaging (IM) message, a push notification,an alarm signal, a message delivered through an internet enabledcommunication service, such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, via anAPI call or HTTP post, etc. An emergency alert may be sent and/orreceived separately from data associated with a mobile device.

The call handling system workstation 130 is further operatively coupledto a computer aided dispatch (CAD) system 140 via a connection 105,which may also be an Ethernet connection. The CAD system 140 includesone or more processors that are operative to execute one or moreemergency services related applications. The CAD system 140 includes adisplay operative to provide one or more graphical user interfaces(GUIs) 141 related to the emergency services related applications. Forexample, one GUI 142 may be related to a location emergency servicesapplication and GUI 143 may be related to a tow truck dispatch emergencyservices application in accordance with various embodiments. Emergencyservices personnel may receive appropriate emergency servicesinformation via the GUI 142 and GUI 143, and other GUIs, and placedispatch calls 145 to emergency responders 146 accordingly. The GUI 142and GUI 143 may be provided as a web browser interface (such as acloud-based application interface), or via a web browser plug-in, or maybe associated with applications running on the machine on which they aredisplayed, or by any other software implementation mechanism.

The various wireless networks 110 are operatively coupled to theInternet 150 via Internet connectivity 111 and provide Internetconnections to the various mobile devices, such as mobile device 101,that are connected to the various wireless networks 110. The emergencycall handling system 120 is also connected to the Internet 150 viaInternet connectivity 112.

In accordance with various embodiments, an accident analysis andreporting (AAR) system 160 is operatively coupled to the Internet 150with Internet connectivity 114 and is operative to receive data fromvarious data sources including, but not limited to, mobile devices suchas mobile device 101, the wireless networks 110 and other sources, etc.In some embodiments, the AAR system 160 may be collocated or integratedwith the PSAP. Therefore, the AAR system 160 may be considered to be anemergency services system 100 entity or otherwise a type of apparatus.In other implementations, the AAR system 160 communicates with anemergency network such as a PSAP, and with various tow truck dispatchsystems 170 as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) application that isaccessed via a graphical user interface provided via a web browser.Therefore, the GUI 142, GUI 143 and GUI 125 may be provided via webbrowsers in communication with an SaaS application executing on aprocessor/server of AAR system 160. The AAR system 160 is operative tosend data to the CAD system 140 via the Internet 150 and Internetconnectivity 112 to the PSAP. Various tow truck dispatch systems 170 areoperatively coupled to the Internet 150 via their respective Internetconnectivity 113 which may be wired connections, wireless connections,or combinations of both. Each of the tow truck dispatch systems 170includes a dispatch station 121 which includes one or more processorsoperative to execute emergency services software and to display one ofmore GUIs associated with the emergency services software. An emergencyservices dispatch application, such as for example a fleet managementsoftware or other fleet dispatch software, provides an emergency towtruck dispatch GUI 123 which provides information to tow truck dispatchpersonnel. The GUI 125, which may be accessed via a web browser, isoperatively coupled to the AAR system 160 via an IP connection and maybe implemented via one or more web socket connections. Among otherfeatures of the AAR system 160, the AAR system 160 is operative tocommunicate with the tow truck dispatch systems 170 to dispatch one ormore tow trucks in response to a threshold of emergency calls occurringwithin a given geospatial and temporal (i.e. time interval) span. TheGUI 125 may be operative to communicate with the tow truck dispatchsoftware or fleet management software executing on each dispatch station121 via application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable thecommunication and exchange of data between the applications.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram that provides details on the various datasources 200 from which the AAR system 160 obtains data. The data sources200 include intrinsic and extrinsic data sources such as, but notlimited to, mobile device IMU data 201 (inertial measurement unit),connected vehicle data 203, roadway camera data 205, traffic sensor data207 and social media feeds 209. An intrinsic data source refers to datasources that may be generated by a roadside emergency such as mobiledevices present in a vehicle or connected vehicles when the vehicle isinvolved in a collision or in taking abrupt, sudden evasive action, toavoid collision. Extrinsic data sources are external such as, but notlimited to, roadway camera data 205, traffic sensor data 207 and socialmedia feeds 209. All of the data sources 200 are operative tocommunicate with the Internet 150 and the AAR system 160 is operative toreceive data from each of the data sources 200 from the Internet 150 viaInternet connectivity 114. For example, mobile devices and connectedvehicles obtain Internet connections via a respective wireless networkof the wireless networks 110, which in turn provide Internetconnectivity 111. Roadway cameras and traffic sensors are operativelycoupled to the Internet 150 and may be coupled via backhaul wiredconnections or may be wirelessly coupled. Social media feeds 209, whichmay include information originating from a variety of devices such asmobile devices, laptops, desktop computers etc., may be obtained fromthe social media source which for example is accessed via a websiteviewable and readable over the Internet 150.

An example of how and when the data sources 200 interact with the AARsystem 160 is illustrated in FIG. 3 . FIG. 3 is a traffic diagram 300showing an example of data being sent to the AAR system 160. In FIG. 3 ,a first vehicle 301 and second vehicle 305 are engaged in a collision.In this example, both vehicles are connected vehicles and send data torespective wireless networks 110. For example, the first vehicle 301sends connected vehicle data 203 (i.e. collision data) over a firstwireless connection 303 and the second vehicle 305 sends connectedvehicle data 203 over a second wireless connection 307. Because a thirdvehicle 309 is not a connected vehicle, it cannot send any connectedvehicle data. However, because the driver has a mobile device 311, themobile device 311 sends mobile device IMU data 201 related to theincident over wireless connection 313. Additionally, an Internetconnected roadway camera sends roadway camera data 205 and a cluster oftraffic sensors sends traffic sensor data 207 via the Internet 150.

The term “vehicle collision” as used herein refers to an event involvinga vehicle relating to an emergency or non-emergency situation. A vehiclecollision may involve more than one vehicle. For example, a vehiclecollision may involve two or more vehicles in contact with one another,such as in the example illustrated by the example traffic diagram ofFIG. 3 . In another example, a vehicle collision may involve two or morevehicles that are not in contact with one another, such as for example,two or more vehicles sliding into a roadside ditch due to icy roadconditions. A vehicle collision may involve one vehicle. For example, avehicle collision may involve one vehicle in contact with an object thatis not another vehicle, such as for example where a vehicle has comeinto contact with a tree, road sign, overpass, divider, nails in theroad which cause a flat tire, etc., or where a vehicle may be in contactwith the road such as in the case of an overturned vehicle which hasturned on to its side or roof. In another example, a vehicle collisionmay involve one vehicle that is not in contact with another object suchas where a vehicle has gone off-road, stalled, caught fire, etc.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that provides details of an example AAR system400 in accordance with some example embodiments. In accordance with theexample embodiments, the AAR system 400 is operative to utilizeintrinsic data and extrinsic data to detect that a roadway emergency hasoccurred, and to engage in various actions based on the nature of theroadway emergency using various practical applications that areassistive to emergency first responders. The AAR system 400 is furtheroperative to utilize intrinsic data and extrinsic data to determine theseverity of the emergency in order to determine the various actionsbased on the severity determination.

In FIG. 4 , the example AAR system 400 includes one or more processors401 and a memory 402 operatively coupled to the processors 401 via aninternal communication bus 403. A network interface 404 is operativelycoupled to the one or more processors via the internal communication bus403 and provides Internet connectivity 114. In some embodiments, theexample AAR system 400 may be operatively coupled to a location database407 via another interface 405 and a database communication protocol 406.

As used herein, components may be “operatively coupled” when informationcan be sent between such two components, even though there may be one ormore intermediate or intervening components between, or along theconnection path. Therefore, any of the various components connected tothe internal communication bus 403 may be understood herein to beoperatively coupled to the one or more processors 401 or to each otherwhere appropriate. Operative coupling may also exist between engines,system interfaces or components implemented as software or firmwareexecuting on a processor and such “software coupling” may be implementedusing libraries 423 (i.e. application programming interfaces (APIs)) orother software interfacing techniques as appropriate. Such libraries orAPIs provide operative coupling between various software implementedengines in FIG. 4 .

The one or more processors 401 are operative to execute software code,or “executable instructions” 421 which may be stored in memory 402, suchthat the one or more processors 401 are operative to implement anoperating system, an IMU and vehicle data analysis engine 408; an imageanalysis engine 409; a traffic sensor data analysis engine 410; alocation determination engine 411; an emergency call cluster analysisengine 412; a social media context engine 413; a panic button analysisengine 415; an emergency assessment engine 420; a tow truck dispatchsystem interface/portal 430; an interactive voice response (IVR) callflow logic 431 and a short-message-service/multi-media-message-service(SMS/MMS) module 433. Each one of the engines is operative to receiveand process data from a respective one or more of the intrinsic andextrinsic data sources. Each of the engines is also operative tocommunicate with other engines using various libraries (i.e.application-programming-interfaces or APIs) 423 such that data and otherinformation, such as decisions or determinations may be exchanged duringdata analysis and action determination. The emergency assessment engine420 in conjunction with the tow truck dispatch system interface/portal430 may serve as a central coordination point-of-action in someembodiments for all other engines executed by the one or more processors401. The tow truck dispatch system interface/portal 430 may provide anSaaS application interface to the tow truck dispatch systems 170 via theGUI 125, and to the CAD workstations via GUI 143.

The IMU and vehicle data analysis engine 408 is operative to receive andprocess mobile device IMU data 201 from mobile devices that arephysically present in a vehicle engaged in a collision or other roadsideemergencies, as well as obtain connected vehicle data 203 from anyconnected vehicles involved in a collision. An IMU is an inertialmeasurement unit and may include a gyroscope, accelerometer andmagnetometer. Both mobile devices and connected vehicles may includeIMUs. The IMU and vehicle data analysis engine 408 is operative todetermine that an emergency has occurred and to assess incident severitybased on data indicating airbag deployment in a vehicle, an automaticcrash notification, change-in-velocity, and acceleration data. Thespecific mobile devices and vehicles involved in a specific incident aredetermined in conjunction with the location determination engine 411,which resolves and associates mobile device IMU data 201 and connectedvehicle data 203 with corresponding location information. The locationinformation may be obtained from the location database 407 in someembodiments.

Both mobile devices and connected vehicles may send their respectivelocation information, for example obtained using an internalglobal-position-system (GPS) chipset, over the Internet along withcorresponding mobile device IMU data 201 and connected vehicle data 203.The AAR system 400 may therefore determine if multiple vehicles wereinvolved in a collision by resolving location data (by the locationdetermination engine 411) in conjunction with mobile device IMU data 201and connected vehicle data 203 resolved by the IMU and vehicle dataanalysis engine 408.

Extrinsic data sources such as roadway camera data 205, traffic sensordata 207 and social media feeds 209 are obtained and assessed by theimage analysis engine 409, traffic sensor data analysis engine 410 andsocial media context engine 413, respectively.

The image analysis engine 409 is operative to receive and processroadway camera data 205 and incorporates an artificial intelligence (AI)algorithm to visually determine when a collision has occurred. The imageanalysis engine 409 may receive continuous data feeds from variousroadway cameras and may therefore analyze roadway camera data 205substantially continuously. Because the location of each roadway camerais known, any collision detected will in turn send a notification to theemergency assessment engine 420 which will query the IMU and vehicledata analysis engine 408 for associated data analysis. Roadway camerasmay be positioned to overlook a highway, parkway, expressway, or othermajor roadway and may be positioned to overlook side streets or blocksin neighborhood communities. Such roadway cameras may be owned andoperated by federal, state, or local authorities. However, some roadwaycameras may be personal surveillance cameras where the camera owner hasauthorized sharing information and surveillance camera data with stateor local authorities.

The traffic sensor data analysis engine 410 is operative to receive andprocess traffic sensor data 207 and incorporates an artificialintelligence (AI) algorithm to review traffic patterns and determinewhen a collision has occurred. The traffic sensor data analysis engine410 may receive continuous data feeds from various roadway trafficsensors and may therefore analyze roadway traffic sensor data 207substantially continuously. Because the location of each roadway trafficsensor is known, any collision detected will in turn send a notificationto the emergency assessment engine 420 which will query the IMU anvehicle data analysis engine 408 for associated data analysis.

The location determination engine 411 is operative to receive andprocess data from PSAPs 450 and in some embodiments may receiveautomatic number identification (ANI) and automatic location identifier(ALI) information in response to emergency calls received by the PSAPs450. The location determination engine 411 may, in some embodiments,access the location database 407 and then either add missing locationinformation or otherwise enhance location information corresponding toan ANI, and return the missing or enhanced location information to thePSAPs 450. The location determination engine 411 is operative to work inconjunction with the call cluster analysis engine in some embodiments.

For example, the location determination engine 411 may determine thatlocations for a group of emergency calls are within a given radius (suchas a one-half mile radius or less such as a 300 meter radius) and notifythe call cluster analysis engine 412. The emergency call clusteranalysis engine 412 is operative to receive ANI information from thePSAPs 450 and determine that calls arriving in close time proximity(such as within two minutes of each other, for example), and within thegiven predetermined radius as determined by the location determinationengine 411, indicate that the calls are related to the same incident.

The social media context engine 413 is operative to receive and processsocial media feeds 209 and incorporates an artificial intelligence (AI)algorithm to review the feeds for contextual information including, butnot limited to, location related information. In some embodiments, theimage analysis engine 409 may assess images posted in the social mediafeeds 209 when such images are available.

The tow truck dispatch system interface/portal 430 is operative toaccess various libraries (i.e. APIs) 423 such that it may communicatewith the various tow truck dispatch systems 170 and provide informationin an emergency tow truck dispatch GUI 125 displayed on a tow truckdispatch station 121 display or on a tow truck dispatch operator'smobile device. The tow truck dispatch system interface/portal 430 isalso operative to receive a confirmation or acknowledgement from the towtruck dispatch systems 170, or via a mobile device, and to relay theconfirmation or acknowledgment to the PSAPs 450 and to relay theconfirmation or acknowledgment to a specific emergency incident.

A panic button analysis engine 415 is operative to receive and processdata from mobile devices and connected vehicles that incorporate such afeature. This feature may be used in emergency and also in non-emergencysituations. In an example of a non-emergency situation, a driver maysend an alert to a PSAP by, for example, pushing a panic button on thevehicle console or a soft button on mobile phone app. The mobile phoneapp may include a further user query in which the user may indicatesthat it is not a life-threatening situation or is otherwise anon-emergency. The PSAP may convey this message as a query to the AARsystem 400, which may in turn obtain location information based on ANIinformation contained in the query. However, if a phone call is placedto the PSAP, the driver may verbally convey the location. In eitherevent, the PSAP may send a query to the AAR system 400 requesting anon-emergency tow truck. The tow truck dispatch system interface/portal430 may then in response, send an alert message to the tow truckdispatch systems 170 to dispatch a tow truck. If a tow truck dispatchoperator accepts the query, an acknowledgement confirmation is returnedto the tow truck dispatch system interface/portal 430, which may in turnnotify the originating PSAP. In some embodiments, the driver may be ableto choose between tow truck providers based on the driver's insuranceprovider, response times and price, or both, using a mobile phone appthat communicates with the tow truck dispatch system interface/portal430.

The emergency assessment engine 420 is operative to receive analysis anddetermination data from the IMU and vehicle data analysis engine 408;the image analysis engine 409; the traffic sensor data analysis engine410; the location determination engine 411; the emergency call clusteranalysis engine 412; the social media context engine 413; and the panicbutton analysis engine 415, and to make a final determination as toincident severity and location. Based on the severity and locationdetermination, the emergency assessment engine 420 is operative toutilize the tow truck dispatch system interface/portal 430 to requestdispatch of one or more tow trucks to the location of the incident. Theemergency assessment engine 420 is also operative to receive anacknowledgement and confirmation from the tow truck dispatch systems 170and to notify the PSAPs 450 when the one or more tow trucks have beendispatched. The acknowledgment may be received by the emergencyassessment engine 420, through the tow truck dispatch systeminterface/portal 430, via the SMS/MMS module 433 or via the IVR callflow logic 431. Tow truck dispatch operators may enter anacknowledgement using the GUI 125, sending a text message or respondingto an IVR call flow logic 431 input prompt. Tow truck dispatch systems170 that employ dispatch stations 121 may utilize the GUI 125 within aweb browser to receive tow truck dispatch requests from the emergencyassessment engine 420, and to enter acknowledgements within the GUI 125.Otherwise, tow truck dispatch operators may also access tow truckdispatch requests via text or multi-media messages sent to theirrespective mobile devices via the SMS/MMS module 433, or receive IVRcalls on their mobile devices from the IVR call flow logic 431. In thatcase, the IVR call flow logic 431 provides user prompts for respondingthe tow truck dispatch request with a keypad or voice entry to indicateacknowledgement, such as “say yes, or press one to acknowledge,” and“say no or press two to reject.” The IVR call flow logic 431 and SMS/MMSmodule 433 are operatively coupled to the emergency assessment engine420 and are both operative to convey the acknowledgment received from atow truck dispatch operator.

One or more of the various engines described herein may be implementedas software or firmware (or as a combination of software and firmware)executing on one or more processors, and may also include, or may beimplemented independently, using hardware such as, but not limited to,ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), DSPs (digital signalprocessors), hardwired circuitry (logic circuitry), or combinationsthereof. That is, any of the engines and/or the tow truck dispatchinterface/portal 430 may be implemented using an ASIC, DSP, executableinstructions executing on a processor, logic circuitry, or combinationsthereof. In other words, the engines may be implemented as hardware,software or by combinations thereof. Therefore, each of the enginesdisclosed herein may be considered a type of apparatus that may beimplemented and operate independently from the other engines in the AARsystem.

In the example of FIG. 4 , the various engines and the tow truckdispatch interface/portal 430 are implemented as executable instructions(i.e. as portions of the executable instructions 421) stored in memory402 which can be executed by one or more processors 401.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a method of operation of the AAR systemwith respect to data source analysis for dispatching a tow truck inaccordance with various embodiments. The method of operation begins, andin operation blocks 501 through 504, AAR system 400 obtains data fromthe various data sources 200 illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 . Forexample, in operation block 501, the AAR system 400 obtains mobiledevice IMU data, and in operation block 505 monitors the mobile deviceIMU data for collision indicators. In operation block 502, the AARsystem 400 obtains connected vehicle data, and in operation block 506monitors the connected vehicle data for collision indicators. Inoperation block 503 the AAR system 400 obtains roadway camera data, andin operation block 507 monitors the roadway camera data for collisionindicators. In operation block 504, the AAR system 400 obtains trafficsensor data, and in operation block 508 monitors the traffic sensor datafor collision indicators.

The processes in operation blocks 501 through 508 may occur continuouslyin some embodiments. In other embodiments, the data obtained inoperation block 501 may only be received at initiation of emergencycall. In some embodiments, the data obtained in operation block 502 mayonly be sent by connected vehicle when the connected vehicle determinesthat a collision has occurred. Therefore, in such embodiments, thereceipt of the connected vehicle data in operation block 502 issufficient to indicate that a collision has occurred without analysis.Further in that case, the connected vehicle data may be analyzed by theAAR system 400 to determine collision severity in some embodiments.

In decision block 509, the AAR system 400 determines if a collisionindication was detected from any of the monitored data sources. Acollision indication is detected in decision block 509 if at least onecollision indicator is received in operation block 505, operation block506, operation block 507, operation block 508. However a machinelearning algorithm in the emergency assessment engine 420 makes adecision of whether a collision has occurred based on the receivedcollision indicators. The machine learning algorithm is trained usingdata that is initially collected using the same monitoring systems. Insome situations, a single collision indicator may be insufficient forthe machine learning algorithm to concludes that a collision has in factoccurred. In other words, more than one collision indicator receivedwill provide higher reliability of decision making by the emergencyassessment engine 420. If no collision indication is detected indecision block 509, the process continues to obtain and monitor datafrom the various data sources 200. However, if a collision indication isdetected in decision block 509, the method of operation proceeds tooperation block 511 and checks and compares all the data source 200feeds to determine if any incoming data may be correlated with thedetected collision indication. A data correlation check may be performedby the emergency assessment engine 420 in some embodiments. Theemergency assessment engine 420 uses the various libraries 423 tocommunicate with the other various engines executed by the one or moreprocessors 401 to make the data comparison and correlationdetermination.

In operation block 513, in response to the detected collision indicationin decision block 509, the social media context engine 413 will searchsocial media data for image, location, or other related information thatmay be correlated to the detected collision. In operation block 515, theemergency assessment engine 420 will assess the incident severity basedon all related and correlated information received from the variousengines including the social media context engine 413. In operationblock 517, emergency assessment engine 420 will access appropriatelibraries 423 and communicate with the tow truck dispatch systeminterface/portal 430 to send a tow truck dispatch request to the towtruck dispatch systems 170 based on the assessed incident severity. Themethod of operation then ends as shown.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing another method of operation of the AARsystem related to call cluster analysis for dispatching a tow truck inaccordance with various embodiments. The method of operation begins, andin operation block 601, the AAR system 400 receives mobile devicelocation data for received emergency calls which may be received by aPSAP. The location data may be, for example, Android™ Emergency LocationService (ELS) or Advance Mobile Location (AML) data. The location datamay be stored in the location database 407 and accessed by the locationdetermination engine 411. The location determination engine 411 accessesthe location database 407 and in operation block 603 provides a PSAPwith either missing location information or enhanced locationinformation depending on the level of location information available tothe PSAP via its ALI/ANI (Automatic Location Identification/AutomaticNumber Identification) data connection. In some cases, additionallocation information may also be provided to a PSAP in response tolocation queries. However, missing or enhanced location information viaELS or AML data is provided continuously in operation block 603 as partof normal operation of the AAR system 400.

As ELS or AML location data arrives in operation block 601 the AARsystem 400 also monitors the data in operation block 605 to determine ifthe emergency calls form call clusters based on the proximity of thecaller locations and the timing of the calls. For example, calls locatedwithin a 300 m radius and arriving within 2 to 5 minutes of each othermay be considered a call cluster and therefore may be considered relatedto an identical emergency incident. Thus, in decision block 607 the callcluster analysis engine 412 may determine that a call cluster has beendetected. If no call cluster is detected in decision block 607, then themethod of operation proceeds to monitor incoming location queries forcall clusters in operation block 605. However, if a call cluster isdetected in decision block 607, then the method of operation proceeds tooperation block 609 and accesses and compares data feeds from all otherdata sources 200 to look for correlated data. Further, in operationblock 611, the social media context engine 413 searches social mediadata for images, location information or other related information thatmay be correlated to the incident. In operation block 613, the emergencyassessment engine 420 assesses the incident severity based on allrelated information. In operation block 615, the emergency assessmentengine 420 communicates with the tow truck dispatch systeminterface/portal 430 to send a tow truck dispatch request based on theassessed incident severity, and may also send an SMS message or place anIVR call to some dispatchers based on their respective preferences ortechnical capabilities. The method of operation then ends as shown.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method of operation of the AAR systemrelated to tow truck dispatching in accordance with various embodiments.The method of operation begins, and in operation block 701 locationdetermination engine 411 determines the location of emergency incident.The location may be determined using GPS data obtained from a mobiledevice or from the connected vehicle that incorporates a GPS chipset.However, in other situations, the location may be determined byaccessing the location database 407 in conjunction with ANI informationthat may be received by the AAR system 400 from a PSAP. The data sourcemobile device IMU data 201 may include location information such as thatprovided by a GPS chipset or other location information andidentification information that identifies the mobile device sending theIMU data such that ANI/ALI data is not required from the PSAP.

In operation block 703, AAR system 400 may determine the types ofvehicles involved in an incident. For example, if connected vehicle data203 is received by the IMU and vehicle data analysis engine 408, theconnected vehicle data 203 may indicate the type of vehicle. Inoperation block 705, the emergency assessment engine 420 determines thenumber of vehicles involved in the incident. This is accomplished by thestep in which the emergency assessment engine 420 looks for correlateddata. The call cluster analysis engine 412 may determine a number ofrelated calls which may also be useful in correlating connected vehicledata 203 and/or mobile device IMU data 201 to the various involvedvehicles.

Similarly, in operation block 707, the number of passengers involved inthe incident may also be determined by the correlation of data where anumber of mobile devices having the same location provide mobile deviceIMU data 201 to the AAR system 400. Additionally, connected vehicle data203 may provide an indication of the number of passengers in eachvehicle. In operation block 709, emergency assessment engine 420determines the number and type of tow trucks required based on thenumber of vehicles, the vehicle types if the information is available,and possibly the incident severity.

All of the above operations in accordance with the various embodimentsmay be performed without receipt of an emergency call by the PSAP andwithout a query being received by the AAR system 400 from the PSAP.However, in some emergency situations emergency calls may be receivedsubsequent to the AAR system 400 having made the determination that acollision has occurred and that an emergency situation exists.Therefore, in decision block 711, the emergency assessment engine 420will determine if any related and correlated location data such as ELSor AML data have been received by the location determination engine 411.If no associated emergency call location data has been received atdecision block 711, then the emergency assessment engine 420 willproceed to operation block 715 and will notify the correct PSAP of thecollision and provide any available supplemental information. Thecorrect PSAP is determined based on the location of the incident and thegeographic coverage area defined for the specific PSAP. In other words,each PSAP has a defined geographic coverage area which is known to theAAR system 400 such that the AAR system 400 may accordingly notify thecorrect PSAP.

If in decision block 711 associated location data has been received bythe AAR system 400, then in operation block 713 the emergency assessmentengine 420 will also notify the correct PSAP and provide any availablesupplemental information. In either case, in operation block 717 theemergency assessment engine 420 communicates with the tow truck dispatchsystem interface/portal 430 to send a tow truck dispatch request basedon the assessed incident severity and all available information. Inoperation block 719, the emergency assessment engine 420 monitors thetow truck dispatch systems 170 and waits for an acknowledgment. Until anacknowledgment is received in decision block 721, the process inoperation block 719 continues. When an acknowledgment has been receivedat decision block 721, emergency assessment engine 420 will proceed tooperation block 723 and notify the correct PSAP that the one or more towtrucks has been dispatched to the scene of the incident. The method ofoperation then ends as shown.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a method of operation of the AAR systemrelated to non-emergency tow truck dispatching. The method of operationbegins and in operation block 801, a PSAP receives a panic buttonnotification either from the vehicle dashboard or from a mobile deviceapplication. Depending on the severity of the situation, in some casesthe user may be able to verbally communicate with the PSAP operator orthe services facility that provides the in-vehicle panic buttonnotification service, and convey the nature of the incident whether itis life-threatening emergency. In other cases where there is no verbalcommunication, or supplemental to verbal communication, the AAR system400 may utilize the various data sources 200 to determine incidentseverity. In any of the situations, in decision block 803, adetermination is made as to whether the incident is life-threateningemergency. The life-threatening emergencies determine decision block803, then the method of operation proceeds to operation block 807 andthe notification is processed using emergency call procedures such asthose described with respect to previous flowcharts.

However, if the situation is determined to be a non-emergency atdecision block 803, then the method of operation proceeds to operationblock 805, and a query for tow truck dispatch is sent. In someembodiments, the CAD dispatch system 140 will display the tow truckdispatch emergency services application GUI 143 the operator may thensend the query for tow truck dispatch using the GUI 143. The GUI 143communicates with the AAR system and specifically with the tow truckdispatch system interface/portal 430. In such embodiments, in responseto receiving the tow truck dispatch query from the GUI 143, the towtruck dispatch system interface/portal 430 performs the action ofoperation block 809 and forwards the query to the tow truck dispatchsystems 170 for a non-emergency tow truck.

In alternative embodiments, the tow truck dispatch services applicationand the associated GUI 143 includes the tow truck dispatch systeminterface/portal 430 executing on the CAD dispatch system 140. In thatcase, the CAD dispatch system 140 interacts with the tow truck dispatchsystems 170 directly and will directly receive an acknowledgment fromthe responding dispatch operator. The acknowledgment will appear in theGUI 143. Therefore, in the flowchart of FIG. 8 , depending upon theparticular embodiment, the operation of operation block 809 andoperation block 811 may be performed either by a tow truck dispatchsystem interface/portal 430 and AAR system, or via a tow truck dispatchsystem interface/portal 430 that is present in the CAD dispatch system140. In either embodiment, monitoring will continue in operation block811 until an acknowledgment is received at decision block 813. Once anacknowledgment is received at decision block 813, in operation block 815a notification will be sent to the PSAP either from the tow truckdispatch system interface/portal 430 at the AAR system, or directly fromone of the tow truck dispatch systems 170 in embodiments in which thetow truck dispatch system interface/portal 430 is present in the CADdispatch system 140. The method of operation then ends as shown.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a method of operation of the AAR system400 related to tow truck dispatch query acknowledgements for emergencieswhere multiple tow trucks are required at an accident scene. The methodof operation begins, and in operation block 901, the emergencyassessment engine 420 communicates with the tow truck dispatch systeminterface/portal 430 to send a tow truck dispatch request with aspecified number of tow trucks required at an emergency location. Thetow truck dispatch request may also be sent as an SMS message or as anIVR call to a dispatch operator. In operation block 903, the emergencyassessment engine 420 monitors the tow truck dispatch systems 170 andwaits for an acknowledgement. Depending on each tow truck dispatcher'sdemand and the number of tow trucks required, some tow truck dispatchersmay not be able to dispatch all needed tow trucks because they may nothave the sufficient tow trucks available. In that case, an updateddispatch request may be sent such that another tow truck dispatcher mayprovide acknowledgements. Returning to the method of operation, until anacknowledgement is received in decision block 905, the process inoperation block 903 continues and the tow truck dispatch systems 170 aremonitored for an acknowledgement. If an acknowledgement is received indecision block 905, then the emergency assessment engine 420 willproceed to operation block 907 to determine a number of tow trucksacknowledged by the tow truck dispatch systems 170. In other words, theparticular tow truck dispatcher sending the acknowledgment may only beable to accommodate a portion of the required tow trucks.

If in decision block 909 the emergency assessment engine 420 determinesthat all tow trucks have been acknowledged, then in operation block 917the emergency assessment engine 420 will notify the appropriate PSAPthat all tow trucks have been dispatched to the scene of the incident.However, if in decision block 909 the emergency assessment engine 420determines that the acknowledgment only acknowledges dispatch of aportion of the requested tow trucks, then the emergency assessmentengine 420 will proceed to operation block 911 and the emergencyassessment engine 420 will notify the PSAP of the remaining number ofrequired tow trucks that have not been dispatched or otherwise updatethe PSAP with the number of tow trucks that have been dispatched. Theemergency assessment engine 420 then proceeds to operation block 913 andupdates the tow truck dispatch request with the remaining number ofrequired tow trucks. In operation block 915, the emergency assessmentengine 420 communicates with the tow truck dispatch systeminterface/portal 430 to send the updated tow truck dispatch request. Theemergency assessment engine 420 then proceeds to operation block 903 tomonitor the tow truck dispatch systems 170 and wait for anacknowledgement for the updated tow truck dispatch request. When theemergency assessment engine 420 determines that all required tow truckshave been acknowledged for dispatch in operation block 909, then inoperation block 917 the emergency assessment engine 420 will notify theappropriate PSAP that all tow trucks have been dispatched to the sceneof the incident. The method of operation then ends as shown.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a method of operation of the AAR system400 related to tow truck dispatch requests and situational awareness ofvehicle collision events in which the AAR system 400 monitors anemergency scene during tow truck dispatching. Emergencies may bedetected that occur subsequent to the occurrence of another emergency inwhich a tow truck dispatch request was previously sent. The method ofoperation illustrated by FIG. 10 monitors a situation, i.e. obtains“situation awareness” of an existing accident or emergency scene andupdates the tow truck dispatch request, or sends a new additionalrequest if needed. For example, if a vehicle crash results in a pile-up,and more vehicles become involved during monitoring, the number ofrequired tow trucks is assessed by the AAR system 400 and additional towtruck resources are requested automatically if determined to berequired. The method of operation begins, and in operation block 1001,the emergency assessment engine 420 communicates with the tow truckdispatch system interface/portal 430 to send a tow truck dispatchrequest. In operation block 1003, the emergency assessment engine 420monitors the tow truck dispatch systems 170 and waits for anacknowledgement. Until an acknowledgement is received in decision block1005, the process in operation block 1003 continues, and the emergencyassessment engine 420 continues to wait for an acknowledgement. If anacknowledgement is received in decision block 1005, then in operationblock 1007 the emergency assessment engine 420 will determine, and storein memory 402, a tow truck dispatch system identifier associated withthe particular tow truck dispatch system that acknowledged a previouslysent tow truck dispatch request, for example in one of the process flowsshown in FIG. 7 through FIG. 9 . In some implementations, theacknowledgement received in the process flows of FIG. 7 through FIG. 10may include identification information for the tow truck dispatchsystem. Otherwise, the emergency assessment engine 420 will assign anidentifier for each tow truck dispatch system that sends anacknowledgment. The tow truck dispatch system identifier may be, forexample, a key or tag which may be unique to each tow truck dispatchsystem that may send an acknowledgment. In operation block 1009, theemergency assessment engine 420 notifies the appropriate PSAP of the towtruck dispatch to the scene of the incident. The appropriate PSAP is thePSAP serving the geographic area in which the incident has occurred.

In operation blocks 1011 through 1015 the AAR system 400 obtains datafrom the various data sources 200 illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 . Forexample, in operation block 1011, the AAR system 400 obtains connectedvehicle data, and in operation block 1017 monitors the connected vehicledata for an associated emergency. In operation block 1013, the AARsystem 400 obtains roadway camera data, and in operation block 1019monitors the roadway camera data for an associated emergency. Inoperation block 1015, the AAR system 400 obtains traffic sensor data,and in operation block 1021 monitors the traffic sensor data for anassociated emergency. The data from the various data sources 200 is usedby the AAR system 400 to obtain situational awareness associated with orrelated to an emergency such as a vehicle collision.

The processes in operation blocks 1011 through 1021 may occurcontinuously. However, in some implementations, the data obtained inoperation block 1011 may only be sent by a connected vehicle when theconnected vehicle collision detection system determines that a collisionhas occurred. Connected vehicle collision detection systems may includea processor and various sensors such as one or more IMU sensors andother sensors that can detect vehicle impact and position used by theprocessor to determine if a collision has occurred or some otherincident in which the vehicle has gone off-road such as if the vehicleslides into a roadside ditch due to icy road conditions, etc. Thevehicle collision detection system includes wireless transceivers suchthat it may send data to the AAR system 400 via a wireless Internetconnection. When such vehicle collision detection systems are present ina vehicle, the vehicle data obtained in operation block 1011 includes acollision indicator such that analysis of the data is not required inorder to determine that a collision has occurred. However, some vehiclesmay only send sensor data, such as IMU data etc. and, in that case, theIMU and vehicle data analysis engine 408 is operative to analyze theincoming data to determine whether the vehicle is involved in acollision.

Thus, based on the monitored incoming data, in decision block 1023, theAAR system 400 determines if an emergency has been detected based ondata from any of the monitored data sources. Detected emergencies mayinclude for example, a vehicle collision, a vehicle that has gone offroad, such as due to icy conditions, a vehicle fire, a situationrequiring police, etc.

If an emergency is not detected in decision block 1023, then the processcontinues to obtain and monitor data from the various data sources 200.However, if an emergency is detected in decision block 1023, then inoperation block 1025 the emergency assessment engine 420 notifies theappropriate PSAP of the emergency. In operation block 1027, theemergency assessment engine 420 identifies the tow truck dispatch systemthat previously sent an acknowledgment using the identifier stored inmemory 402 in operation block 1007, and sends that tow truck dispatchsystem an updated tow truck dispatch request. In other words, the towtruck dispatcher that initially responded is given a right of firstrefusal to send additional required tow trucks if they are available. Indecision block 1029, the emergency assessment engine 420 waits apredetermined period of time for another acknowledgement for the updateddispatch request sent in operation block 1027. If an acknowledgement isreceived in decision block 1029 within the predetermined time period,then the method of operation terminates as shown. If however, anacknowledgement is not received in decision block 1029 within thepredetermined time period, then in operation block 1001 the AAR system400 sends a new tow truck dispatch request to all tow truck dispatchsystems 170.

As described above, the various embodiments make use of collisionindicators. Collision indicators are derived from the various datasources 200 and provide a high probability indication that a vehiclecollision has occurred. Each of the various data sources 200 providesspecific types of collision indicators. For example, the mobile deviceIMU data 201 collision indicators are derived from sudden changes indirection, abrupt or sudden changes in acceleration or velocity, orsudden changes in position as determined by gyroscopic components of thedata. The connected vehicle data 203 may also include such data and mayinclude other data such as ultrafast pressure sensors, indications ofairbag deployment and other data that may indicate damage to a vehicleamong other things.

Roadway camera data 205 provides collision indicators as determined bythe image analysis engine 409 which uses visual image processing todetermine proximity of detected vehicles, as well as to detect changesin direction, velocity and acceleration. Traffic sensor data 207 isanalyzed for anomalous activity indicating the presence of multiplevehicles in a given area. For example, traffic sensor data 207 mayindicate that a number of vehicles entered a given area but did nottraverse through based on subsequently positioned traffic sensors alongthe roadway not detecting the continuing travel of all vehicles.Therefore, the term “collision indicator” as used herein refers to anydata that may indicate that a collision involving a vehicle eithercontacting another vehicle or another object or living being hasoccurred.

The term “severity” as used herein refers to the number of vehiclesdetermined to be involved in the incident, the magnitude of the impactwhich may be determined by various collision indicators (specificallyconnected vehicle data 203 and mobile device IMU data 201), the numberof passengers involved, whether pedestrians were involved, and possibleother information. More particularly, high impact collisions asindicated by a given level of acceleration, velocity, direction oftravel, or position change can be determined and assigned the level ofseverity. A severity level may be assigned based on the magnitude of theimpact, for example, among other information, and the severity level maybe conveyed to the corresponding PSAP.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of a graphical user interface provided by the towtruck dispatch system interface/portal 430 in accordance with variousembodiments. The example graphical user interface (GUI) is one exampleof the GUI 125 which may be displayed on a dispatch station 121 displayor on a mobile device. The example GUI 125 is displayed using a webbrowser 1101 and provides a main webpage 1103 that has a pendingdispatch requests field 1105. Each tow truck dispatch request 1107 mayinclude a posted time and date, a location, a number of tow trucksrequired and whether flatbed tow trucks are required. The tow truckdispatch request 1107 may also include a video feed link when available.Selection of the video feed link may open a video feed window 1113 todisplay a video 1120, and which may also provide an information field115 showing date and time posted, video duration 1117 and a scrollbar1119 to move to certain segments of the video 1120.

Each tow truck dispatch request 1107 may also include an “acknowledgeall” soft button 1109 and an “acknowledge partial” soft button 1111.Selection of the “acknowledge all” soft button 1109 sends anacknowledgement to the AAR system 400 that all required tow trucks forthe tow truck dispatch request will be provided. Selection of the“acknowledge partial” soft button 1111 opens a dialogue box that enablesthe user to enter a number for the number of tow trucks that they areable to accommodate. A field in the dialogue box may also require theuser to enter whether flatbeds are being provided if flatbeds arerequested. The GUI 125 is updated occasionally by the tow truck dispatchsystem interface/portal 430 to add new tow truck dispatch requests andto remove those that have already been acknowledged or otherwise show anindication that the request has been acknowledged.

FIG. 12 is an example tow truck request send by the AAR system via SMSmessage in accordance with some embodiments. A mobile device 1200 mayutilize an SMS message application 1201 to display a tow truck dispatchrequest text message 1203 sent by the SMS/MMS module 433. The operatormay send an acknowledgement by replying to the text message. Forexample, replying with a “111” may correspond to an “acknowledge all,” a“222” plus a number may correspond to an “acknowledge partial,” and a“333” may reject the request.

FIG. 13 illustrates an updated tow truck request 1301 that may be sentin accordance with the method of operation illustrated by FIG. 10 . Theupdated tow truck request 1301 may include a number of additional towtrucks required and allow the operator to “acknowledge all,”“acknowledge partial,” or “reject” the updated request. As discussedwith respect to the process flow of FIG. 10 , an updated tow truckrequest 1301 provides the acknowledging tow truck dispatcher aright-of-first-refusal opportunity to provide the additional requiredservices. Thus in the case in which the operator rejects the updated towtruck request 1301 thereby giving up the right-of-first-refusal, the AARsystem 400 would send out a new broadcast tow truck request to all towtruck dispatch systems 170 giving any dispatcher an opportunity toacknowledge and provide the requested services.

While various embodiments have been illustrated and described, it is tobe understood that the invention is not so limited. Numerousmodifications, changes, variations, substitutions and equivalents willoccur to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope ofthe present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating a cloud-server providingemergency service software-as-a-service applications to a plurality ofemergency networks including public safety answering points (PSAPs),comprising: receiving, by the cloud-server, data from a plurality ofdata sources; determining that a vehicle collision occurred and that atow truck is required based on the data; determining vehicle collisionlocations for a plurality of vehicle collisions for which a tow truck isrequired based on the data; and providing a software-as-a-servicegraphical user interface portal to a tow truck dispatch station computersystem, displaying a plurality of pending dispatch requests, eachdispatch request displayed in response to determining that a vehiclecollision occurred for which a tow truck is required, each dispatchrequest displayed comprising a vehicle collision location and anacknowledgement input section operative to receive an acknowledgementinput from a tow truck dispatch station computer system operator;receiving an operator input to the acknowledgement input section at atleast one of the displayed dispatch requests; and providing theacknowledgement to a PSAP via a software-as-a-service graphical userinterface portal displayed on a computer-aided-dispatch system locatedat the PSAP.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, bythe cloud server, location data for a plurality of emergency calls;providing the location data to the PSAP in response to receiving thelocation data; monitoring the location data for call clusters based onproximity and time; and determining that a vehicle collision occurredbased on determining that the emergency calls of a call clusteroriginated in proximity to a roadway.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving, by the cloud server, inertial measurement unit(IMU) data as a portion of the data received from the plurality of datasources; determining that a vehicle collision occurred based on at leastone of change in acceleration, change in velocity or change in positionbased on the IMU data; and identifying the location of the IMU datasource as the vehicle collision location.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving, by the cloud server, connected vehicledata as a portion of the data received from the plurality of datasources; determining that a vehicle collision occurred based on at leastone collision indicator included in the connected vehicle data; andidentifying the location of the connected vehicle as the location of thevehicle collision.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving, by the cloud server, traffic sensor data as a portion of thedata received from the plurality of data sources; determining that avehicle collision occurred based on at least one collision indicatorincluded in the traffic sensor data; and identifying the location of thevehicle collision as the traffic sensor location.
 6. The method of claim1, further comprising: receiving, by the cloud server, roadway cameradata as a portion of the data received from the plurality of datasources; determining that a vehicle collision occurred based on at leastone collision indicator included in the roadway camera data; andidentifying the location of the vehicle collision as the roadway cameralocation.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining atleast one collision indicator based on data from one of the plurality ofdata sources; comparing other data source data to identify correlateddata; and determining a severity level for a collision based on the atleast one collision indicator and the correlated data.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: searching social media feed data forrelated information in response to determining that a vehicle collisionoccurred based on the received data.
 9. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving an acknowledgment from a tow truck dispatch systemin response to sending the tow truck dispatch request; and notifying thePSAP via the software-as-a-service graphical user interface portaldisplay on the computer-aided-dispatch system located at the PSAP that atow truck has been dispatched to the vehicle collision location.
 10. Acloud-server providing emergency service software-as-a-serviceapplications to a plurality of emergency networks including publicsafety answering points (PSAPs), comprising: an emergency assessmentengine, operative to: receive data from a plurality of data sources;determine that a vehicle collision occurred and that a tow truck isrequired based on the data; and a location determination engine,operatively coupled to the emergency assessment engine, operative to:determine vehicle collision locations for a plurality of vehiclecollisions based on the data; and provide a tow truck dispatch systeminterface operatively coupled to the location determination engine andto the emergency assessment engine operative to: provide asoftware-as-a-service graphical user interface portal to a tow truckdispatch station computer system, displaying a plurality of pendingdispatch requests, each dispatch request displayed in response to theemergency assessment engine determining that a vehicle collisionoccurred for which a tow truck is required, each dispatch requestdisplayed comprising a vehicle collision location and an acknowledgementinput section operative to receive an acknowledgement input from a twotruck dispatch station computer system operator; receive an operatorinput to the acknowledgement input section at at least one of thedisplayed dispatch requests; and provide the acknowledgement to a PSAPvia a software-as-a-service graphical user interface portal displayed ona computer-aided-dispatch system located at the PSAP.
 11. The cloudserver of claim 10, further comprising: a call cluster analysis engine,operatively coupled to the emergency assessment engine and to thelocation determination engine, the call cluster analysis engineoperative to: monitor location data sent to the location determinationengine for call clusters based on location proximity and time; anddetermine that a vehicle collision occurred based on determining thatthe calls of a call cluster originated in proximity to a roadway; andwherein the location determination engine is further operative to:receive the location data for a plurality of emergency calls; andprovide location information to the PSAP in response to receiving thelocation data.
 12. The cloud server of claim 10, further comprising: aninertial measurement unit (IMU) and vehicle data analysis engine,operatively coupled to the emergency assessment engine and to thelocation determination engine, the IMU and vehicle data analysis engineoperative to: receive IMU data from a plurality of mobile devices andvehicles; determine that a vehicle collision occurred based on at leastone of change in acceleration, change in velocity or change in positionbased on the IMU data; and wherein the location determination engine isfurther operative to: identify the location of a mobile device that sentthe IMU data as the vehicle collision location.
 13. The cloud server ofclaim 12, wherein the IMU and vehicle data analysis engine is furtheroperative to: receive connected vehicle data from a plurality ofconnected vehicles; determine that a vehicle collision occurred based onat least one collision indicator included in the connected vehicle data;and wherein the location determination engine is further operative to:identify the location of the connected vehicle as the vehicle collisionlocation.
 14. The cloud server of claim 10, further comprising: atraffic sensor data analysis engine, operatively coupled to theemergency assessment engine and to the location determination engine,the traffic sensor data analysis engine operative to: receive trafficsensor data from a plurality of traffic sensors; determine that avehicle collision occurred based on at least one collision indicatorincluded in the traffic sensor data; and identify the location of thevehicle collision as the traffic sensor location.
 15. The cloud serverof claim 10, further comprising: an image analysis engine, operativelycoupled to the emergency assessment engine and to the locationdetermination engine, the image analysis engine operative to: receiveroadway camera data from a plurality of roadway cameras; determine thata vehicle collision occurred based on at least one collision indicatorincluded in the roadway camera data; and identify the location of thevehicle collision as the roadway camera location.
 16. The cloud serverof claim 10, wherein the emergency assessment engine is furtheroperative to: determine at least one collision indicator based on datafrom one of the plurality of data sources; compare other data sourcedata to identify correlated data; and determine a severity level for avehicle collision based on the at least one collision indicator and thecorrelated data.
 17. The cloud server of claim 10, further comprising: asocial media context engine, operatively coupled to the emergencyassessment engine and to the location determination engine, the socialmedia context engine operative to: search social media feed data forrelated information in response to determining that a vehicle collisionoccurred based on the received data.
 18. The cloud server of claim 10,wherein the software-as-a-service graphical user interface portalproviding by the tow truck dispatch system interface is furtheroperative to: notify the PSAP via the software-as-a-service graphicaluser interface portal display on the computer-aided-dispatch systemlocated at the PSAP that a tow truck has been dispatched to the vehiclecollision location.
 19. A method of operating a cloud server providingemergency service software-as-a-service applications to a plurality ofemergency networks including public safety answering points (PSAPs),comprising: determining that a vehicle collision occurred at a locationbased on data comprising connected vehicle data and mobile deviceinertial measurement unit data; sending a tow truck dispatch request toa plurality of tow truck dispatch systems via Internet Protocolconnections, displaying the tow truck dispatch requests on asoftware-as-a-service graphical user interface portal at each of the towtruck dispatch systems, in response to determining that the vehiclecollision occurred at the location, the request comprising the locationand a specified number of tow trucks; receiving an acknowledgment at thecloud-server from at least one of the tow truck dispatch systems inresponse to sending the tow truck dispatch request to thesoftware-as-a-service graphical user interface portals; and notifying aPSAP that a tow truck has been dispatched to the location, the PSAPserving an area that includes the location.
 20. The method of claim 19,further comprising: determining that a required number of tow trucks arenot acknowledged based on the specified number of tow trucks; notifyingthe PSAP that a remaining number of tow trucks is still required; andsending an updated tow truck dispatch request with the remaining numberof tow trucks.